Fairfield author releases Dystopian novel series

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Michael Huard, of Fairfield, displays his new Sci-Fi and Fantasy series, which includes three full books, Land of the Free, Hope Bringers, and Freedom, that takes the reader into the far future, the 31st century, and it’s not a pretty one. (photo by Mark Huard)

by Mark Huard

My brother has been busy writing over the past couple of years and has released his book series.

Michael W. Huard’s new Sci-Fi & Fantasy series, which includes three full books; Land of the Free, Hope Bringers, and Freedom, takes the reader into the far future, the 31st century, and it’s not a pretty one.

I asked him what the storyline was about and he simply said that he wants readers to envision a sisterhood of Wonder Woman-like martial arts masters in the real world; now throw in the Terminator and a Hunger Games-like mentality and setting, and there you have the Mystical Slayers layout.

This got me wondering, what does he think the world will look like one thousand years from now? He went on to say he hopes it’s a beautiful place, with peace and good will to man.

However, in the books there’s war, greed, tyranny, and through the aspect of advanced technology and robotics, humans are all messed up and fighting to survive and find a healthy environment to live in. The country is torn into pieces of its former self. He said even today mankind is lost in their computers, the digital devices we have our faces in constantly. These are little robots, and in the series these robots grow bigger.

So how do this sisterhood he writes about play a role in all of it? The author was all smiles when telling me they are freedom fighters in the modern world. They believe in liberty and justice, patriotism and truly want the world and in specific, the United States of America to be whole again.

The books are available exclusively on Amazon, and from what I have seen, getting some good reviews.

He also told me that writing for him is very therapeutic and he really enjoys putting words on paper. He seems to be a guy who loves to tell stories and I found myself wondering what advice he would have for other aspiring authors. As for a reply, he said, “If the words come out easily for you, get them on paper, you can fine tune later.”

Michael is also a martial arts instructor and when you read his works you get the feeling his combative fight scenes are pretty true to such knowledge. The women do some serious butt kicking!

I was suddenly debating where his love of storytelling had come from. He explained that reading is the great escape. He loves traveling all over the galaxy in books. Stories like the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, a/k/a Tolkien’s works were his biggest push in such direction. “I’ve also been a Dungeons & Dragons game master for over 30 years for a long time group of fantasy role players; this led my wife to tell me that I should really get my tales on paper.”

The word is out he’s working on a new series and I wanted to get a feel for what’s coming up in the future. The author’s eyes lit up as he went over what’s to come. “I’ve just begun a new series of Gothic Fairy Tales, and it’s going very well.” I took a peak on his author bookshelf and he’s writing about witches and vampires, Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood.

He then let the cat out of the bag by saying that he was actually working on a sort of retelling of the classic Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel. He said, however, it’s very different in many ways because the story is about a brother. I think we can all look for that book in the future.

I then had to ask him, seeing how he seems to be pretty busy, “What’s a typical working day like for you, when and where do you write, and do you set a daily writing goal?”

He went over such, “I get up and do all my writing in the morning and early afternoon. Some days I write a lot, some days nothing at all. As a writer you often end up doing everything from, editing, formatting, and marketing to promotional stuff daily. There’s days when no writing gets done and then there’s days when I do sprints, which are blasts of tons of writing and often 5k words get written.”

The last thing we spoke about was to what he thought made books so special. He explained that reading is the great adventure. It can take you all over the world or to new worlds, its relaxing and a good book is a great treasure indeed.

To check out the author’s works, head on over to Amazon and or visit his page Michael W Huard on Facebook.

China food pantry receives donation

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Melissa Goude, left, and Krystina Foote with daughter Paisley, present a check for $228.89 to the China Community Food Pantry from the Trademark Federal Credit Union. (Photo courtesy of Ann Austin)

Maine-ly Harmony installs new officers

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Maine-ly Harmony’s recently installed officers are, from left to right: Jenny Clair, Kathy Joyce, Janet Dunham, Barbara Combs, Candace Pepin and BJ Sylvester-Pellett. (Photo by Anne Danforth)

Maine-ly Harmony women’s barbershop chorus recently installed its 2019-2020 officers. Serving the chorus are president BJ Sylvester-Pellett, of Winthrop; vice president Candace Pepin, of Augusta; secretary Barbara Combs, of Topsham; treasurer Janet Dunham, of Belgrade; and members at large, Kathy Joyce, of Bowdoinham, and Jenny Clair, of China Village. Installing officer was Sue Staples, of Bangor, and membership representative was Nancy Bossie, of Chelsea. Directed by Kathy Greason, of Brunswick, the chorus welcomes singers to visit their Wednesday 6:30 p.m. rehearsals at the Emmanuel Lutheran Episcopal Church, 209 Eastern Ave in Augusta. Anyone interested in scheduling the chorus to perform for a special event or fundraiser should contact Nancie Hugenbruch at 293-4779 or email hugabook4@yahoo.com.

Mud season arrived on time; with a glimpse of summer

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Michael Bilinsky, of China Village, photographed this sail boat on China Lake on one of the summer-like days the area experienced over the last week.

 

Eli Cates, sitting, with his younger brother Isaac, demonstrate what happens when you don’t buy your kids electronic devices. (Photo courtesy of Emily Cates)

Theresa Gagne celebrates 100th birthday with family

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Theresa Gagne, right, with a granddaughter, Carrie Landry Peterson, celebrated her 100th birthday on April 19, at Eric’s Restaurant, in Waterville. (photo by Missy Brown of Central Maine Photography)

by Mark Huard

Irma Richard and Andrew Wilson gave birth to their daughter Theresa on April 18, 1919, in Brunswick. Theresa was one of 11 children. She and her sister, Yvette Griffin, age 98, are the only two remaining. Theresa continued to live in Brunswick until moving to Waterville when she married the love of her life, Emile Gagne, on October 3, 1942. Emile and Theresa have three children, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Joan (George) Meier, of Oakland, Lorraine Landry, of Waterville, and Bob Gagne,and wife Patti, of Waterville. Michael Meier and Debbie Meier, both of Oakland, Carrie (Nick) Peterson, of South Carolina, Mindy Landry, of Waterville, Randi Burns, of Waterville, and Renee and Chris Slaney, of Benton.

Theresa Gagne poses next to her birthday cake. (photo by Missy Brown of Central Maine Photography)

Emile and Theresa celebrated their 69th wedding anniversary just a few months before Emile passed away at the age of 90. Throughout the years, Theresa worked in several mills before retiring in 1977 at Bates Manufacturing, in Augusta. Theresa enjoyed several hobbies such as needlepoint, working with stained glass, quilting and jewelry making. Theresa still enjoys gardening, cooking, entertaining and spending time with family and friends. Theresa continues to live on her own without any assistance and even renewed her driver’s license for another five years.

On Friday April 19, the family hosted a surprise party for family and friends at Eric’s Restaurant, on College Ave., in Waterville.

 

 

 

 

 

 

China’s Dylan Presby given prestigious male sportsmanship award at Newbury College

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Dylan Presby

China resident Dylan Presby has been presented with the prestigious male sportsmanship award at Newbury College, in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Dylan, who just completed his sophomore season at the liberal arts college, finished the season with a .301 batting average, good for second on the team, was tied for the team lead in runs scored with 21, second in hits, which included three doubles, two triples, one home run, and 14 runs batted in.

Dylan is only the third baseball player to achieve this honor.

In what was thought to be a rebuilding season coming off a 5-15 record in 2017, Newbury College won its first-ever Conference Championship and NCAA Tournament birth in 2018.

Unfortunately, Newbury College is one of the small liberal arts colleges that will be closing at the end of the current school year.

Dylan will be transferring to Lasell College, in Newton, Massachusetts, in the fall.

Dylan played his high school baseball at Erskine Academy, in South China. During his senior season, he batted .490, and went 4-2 as a pitcher with two saves. His regular position is second base, although he did fill in playing center field.

For his accomplishments at Erskine, Dylan was named the Kennebec Journal’s Baseball Player of the Year, an accolade that, it is believed, has never before been given to a China resident.

He will be taking some time off at home for the next couple of weeks before he starts his internship in the Cape Cod Baseball League, a prestigious Massa­chusetts league for developing college players.

Dylan is the son of David and Michelle Presby, of China.

See this related story: China baseball player working to crack lineup at Newbury College

Putt 4 Cass slated for May 18

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Big Sister Paige Lilly and her “Little Brother” Hunter Stevens, came out to support the program that brought them together two years ago by participating in last year’s “Putt 4 Cass.” (Contributed photo)

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Maine (BBBSMM) will celebrate the life of Cassidy Charette by raising money and awareness for local youth mentoring programs at a mini-golf fundraiser “Putt 4 Cass” on Saturday, May 18, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Gifford’s Famous Ice Cream & Mini Golf, in Waterville. (Rain date May 19.) Cassidy was a junior at Messalonskee High School when she was killed in a hayride accident Oct. 11, 2014. Since her passing, her school and its surrounding communities continue to honor and remember the teen whose passion was helping others.

The third annual mini golf event invites schools, businesses, athletic teams, clubs and organizations to form mini golf teams of four players, choose their preferred hour to golf, register online and raise funds for local BBBS mentoring programs, then join the community on May 18 to “Putt 4 Cass.” Last year’s event raised almost $20,000 for local programming.

“Putt 4 Cass” will include course challenges with hourly prizes, ShineOnCass T-shirts for team fundraising, and Gifford’s Famous Ice Cream. Volunteers are welcome. Walk-ins will be accepted, as space allows, for a $20 donation.

Charette was a long-time volunteer for BBBSMM and advocated for a school-based mentoring program at her high school. In her memory, Big Brothers Big Sisters created two school-based programs pairing Messalonskee high school mentors (Bigs) with youth facing adversity (Littles) at Atwood Primary and Williams Elementary schools in Oakland. A third program at the Boys/Girls Club and YMCA at Alfond Youth Center in Waterville, matches kids in the after-school care program with high school “Bigs” from Messalonskee, Winslow, Waterville and Lawrence high schools. More than 100 youth are being served through ShineOnCass programs.

To register a team, sponsor, volunteer, or for more information, call Mae Slevinsky at 592-4616, email mae@bbbsmidmaine.org or visit www.bbbsmidmaine.org.

Laura Sullivan Wins Earth Day Basket

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Rebecca Wood drawing the winning ticket at Hussey’s Store. (Contributed photo)

Laura Sullivan, of Jefferson, was delighted when she learned she had won the Living Communities Foundation’s Earth Day Basket Raffle. Sullivan is looking forward to using the gardening tools and supplies to plant her perennial bulbs and veggies.” The contents of the basket were valued at over $300. Most of the tickets were sold at Hussey’s, and they graciously donated several essential garden tools.

This would not have been possible without the hard work of volunteers Nanci Pollard, Ronn Sepp, Ann Sears, Denise Wilcox, and Mike Dunn. Proceeds benefit the Palermo Community Center and Community Garden, and the Palermo Food Pantry.

China scout achieves rank of Eagle Scout

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Nick’s pottery

by Ron Emery
Assistant Scoutmaster

On March 28, Troop #479, of China, honored an Eagle Scout at a Court of Honor held for South China resident Nick Shelton, at the China Baptist Church. Family, friends and Scouts attended the ceremony marking the advancement of this young man to the highest rank in Boy Scouts.

Eagle Scout Nick Shelton

Nick joins a group of Eagle Scouts who have completed community service projects with the help of fellow Scouts and other volunteers. Each Eagle candidate must plan and supervise an Eagle service project to demonstrate his capacity and willingness to exert his leadership ability in activities that are constructive and worthwhile in his community.

Nick’s project benefited the Waterville community by selecting a project for Waterville Creates! Waterville Creates’ clay studio now has four double-sided free standing shelves. Each side has three color coded shelves to dry pottery and helps keep each individual works separated and easily located. He and fellow scouts and Scouters, friends, and family built and moved the four shelves to the clay studio. This Eagle Service project led by Nick Shelton provided many man-hours of service to the clay studio at Waterville Creates for the ceramic artists. Those who came to his Court of Honor were presented a soup bowl he has made in his pottery shop.

Nick and his parents created a special Eagle Scout ceremony and asked other members of Troop #479 to help him with the ceremony. The Court of Honor was called to order by Kennebec District Advancement Chairman Chuck Mahaleris, Senior Patrol Leader Aiden Pettengill welcomed the guests to the Court of Honor.

Nick is the son of Joe and Terry Shelton, of China, and is a student at Erskine Academy. Nick is currently making pottery for his company called MOPO.

Fortier presented with Scout Citizen Award

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John Fortier, left, was presented the Scout Citizen Award March 7 by Eagle Scout John Dalton. (Contributed photo)

Family, friends and Scouting volunteers gathered at the Winslow MacCrillis-Rousseau Veterans of Foreign Wars post on March 7 to pay tribute to John Fortier, of Belgrade, upon receiving the Scouting Citizen Award for 2019. The Scout Citizen Award is an annual presentation in the Waterville area to someone in the community who in their daily life exemplifies the high ideals of Scouting such as strong character and good citizenship.

“John Fortier is an outstanding individual,” said Kennebec Valley District Boy Scout Chair Bruce Rueger. Rueger, who is a professor at Colby College, continued: “John is a graduate of the University of Maine Orono, past president of the Waterville Rotary Club, past director of the Waterville Salvation Army, and past chairman of the Board of Directors, at Northern Lights Inland Hospital, in Waterville. He has lived in, and around Waterville, his entire life and has spent it helping other people at all times.”

Approximately 60 people attended the gathering. The event raised $21,000 to support the outreach efforts of Scouting in the Waterville area – the highest amount raised at such an event to date. “We’ll be able to help a lot of needy Scouts and make sure they get a great experience at Camp Bomazeen, in Belgrade,” Rueger said.

During his acceptance speech, Fortier, praised the work of Scouting. “The Cub Scouts and Scouts hold a special place of trust when they take and develop young boys and now young girls into adulthood and then release them to practice their Scout Motto and ‘Be Prepared’ to ultimately become especially accomplished citizens.”

Fortier was a Cub Scout as a youth and spent two years in the local Boy Scout troop. “I benefited from scouting and believe I learned valuable skills that have served me well to my current time. My memory is one of the lessons I learned as a Scout was to keep trying and “stick-to-tiveness.” One vivid memory during a weekend jamboree located at a fairgrounds was no gear or Gore-Tex as we know it today – then the rains came, then the mud and that the primitive gear and tents we had at the time did little to prevent the soaking, shivering and cold. It cemented into my mind the importance of the Scout Motto “Be Prepared.” It is impressive to me in this digital day and age of social media when there are so many distractions and disruptive activities influencing our youth that Scouting has never been a more appropriate and never been a more important activity.”